The Proponent

Randy Freking knows how David must have felt, facing Goliath.

Lindsay Kottman

When Randy Freking started an employment law practice in 1990 with only himself and a secretary, he knew how David must have felt as he faced Goliath with a mere slingshot. His actions were rooted in a moral vision, his opponents were enormous, and the situation often seemed hopeless.

Now, since his inspiring ideals and hard work have made Freking & Betz one of the largest employment law firms in the area, his slingshot has become a formidable weapon against these still huge adversaries.

Freking was inspired at a young age to pursue law by a successful family friend. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor's degree in economics in 1979, and received his J.D. from Ohio State in 1982. He then worked for Frost and Jacobs (Frost Brown Todd) for eight years before he made the decision to switch to representing individual plaintiffs.

Freking knew it wouldn't be easy to go out on his own and defend employees, and that it meant less security and less pay. "It is difficult to win cases for employees against corporations. It is a classic 'David and Goliath' situation," he explains. "But I perceived a lot of problems with how employees are treated, and I felt switching to represent them was the right thing to do."

His passion for the people he represents is obvious. When asked about his most important cases, Freking promptly responds, "Not to sound trite, but they are all important." After he gets going, though, he cites cases against huge corporations that had a tremendous impact on his clients' lives and well-being.

In one notable case, Freking"”a Finneytown native who now lives in Anderson Township"”represented a man who had been accused of sexual harassment and fired after working at the company for 25 years. The man, whose family had faithfully sat in the front row at all the proceedings, was finally exonerated and compensated.

As Freking puts it, "We're on a mission here to expand the ability of employees to enforce their rights. We all pull together to succeed."